every nest starts with a simple twig…
Traditional suburban homes, single family wood built house, generally lack enough insulation to keep heating and air conditioning bills reasonable. To keep an older home feeling comfortable, one has to use more energy (electric, oil or gas) or add insulation. Energy Savings: Best Wall Construction explores the options.
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GOALS:
As a result of this analysis, we hope to determine the ideal bathroom for the majority of people, which can be used in all dwelling types. Dwelling types that include Studio/One-Bedroom apartments, or as the primary bathroom in multi-bedroom dwelling.
Continue reading “Imagine the Best Bathroom Layouts Ever”
Article by Nic Buccalo, Architect
STOPPING AIR FLOW FROM INTERIOR TO EXTERIOR
Staying comfortable in winter while keeping one’s energy costs low is the goal. A few simple fixes can reduce one’s energy costs by half. Air sealing is the easiest way to impact the quality of comfort in your home.
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Owning your own Townhouse can be a wonderful experience. It can also turn into a nightmare if you have the attitude that it will take care of itself. Knowing the trouble signs can save you from that frustration, help secure your greatest investment and give you the pleasure of living that you deserve. Here’s Five Things about Townhouses you should know.
When a driveway is too steep as it intersects with the roadway, it can cause property damage by allowing the bottom of vehicles’ bumpers to scrape on the asphalt. Further, there can be scratch marks in the driveway where the bumpers of trucks have failed to clear the surface when trying to enter the property, shortening the lifespan of the driveway. This modest modification at the transition can eliminate those issues.
Continue reading “Driveway Transition”FAR, the floor area ratio, is determined by multiplying the area of a property by a number determined by the property’s zoning district. For instance a 20’x100′ property in a zoning district of R5 has a factor of 1.25 allowing for 2500 square feet of ‘habitable’ interior space.
The issue is what is considered habitable. FAR accounts for the gross built area including thicknesses of walls, suggesting that the very walls that help define the interior spaces are habitable. This results in something unfortunate, the attempt to make structural walls thinner resulting in larger interior spaces, which results in buildings that feel less sturdy by the increase in noise infiltration, vibration and other factors.
Property owners, builders, developers, architects, and engineers may request permission from both the Department of Finance and the Department of Buildings to divide (apportion) or merge (combine) lots. Approval depends on several factors including tax and zoning rules. The Department of Finance Tax Map Office is responsible for processing these requests.
Continue reading “Combining Two Properties or Condominiums in NYC”
Homes are functional machines, although most people don’t consider this factor when designing a new home, or only as a side note. Lets, for a moment, discuss the functional aspects of what humans have to deal with when functioning in a home solely from their point of view, and assume there is a fitting design to solve their daily and weekly tasks in order to save humans the maximum amount of time, thus providing extended opportunities to enjoy life. This is a ‘house as machine’ examination!
The following, so well written, I had to share (with permission) for the benefit of others. It is a comment in reference to a Crain’s article on scaffolding in NYC and why there is so much of it.
By Edward C. Greenberg; NYC copyright and intellectual property litigator and teacher • 4 days ago
Continue reading “Masonry Facade Repair Overview by Ed GreenBerg”
We’re at that point in the year where the sun is starting to make its presence known by giving us extended day light hours. But the effects of the cold acts like winter is an entity cuddled in a slingshot in that the cold of winter is about to hit us, along with snow and ice that makes a daily walk a risk taking adventure. Is there a way of guaranteeing that our walkways will be free of snow and ice year around? I believe there is.
Continue reading “Natural Flow Snow Melting System, Zero Energy Consumption”